I suck in a brittle breath. “This is not the same situation.”
“We know,” Poppy hurries to say.
“Absolutely,” Rose agrees. “It’s just…can you blame us for feeling a little protective of our baby sister?”
My whole body deflates. They’re right to be worried about me. I don’t trust myself where men are concerned either. An arrangement like the one I have with Collin is the only kind of relationship I’ll allow myself.
“I love you for your overprotectiveness,” I say aloud. “You know that.”
Rose and Poppy nod. Poppy’s got tears in her eyes, and Rose is kicking frozen chunks of snow off the driveway.
“Hey.” I wait for them to meet my gaze. “I’m okay. Collin’s a good guy. You both know that.”
They nod again.
“He’s not Nelson. And I’m not even living with him. I’m living in this garage palace.” I do a little shimmy as I point to the upstairs apartment, and it lightens the mood.
“Heck yeah, you are. I can’t wait to see it.” Rose pries open the service door and heads up the stairs into the loft.
Poppy grabs for my hand. “You know you can always come back to The Downer if it doesn’t work out here, right?”
“I know, Pops. But it’ll be good. I’m good.”
Poppy loops her arm around my shoulder. “You’re more than good. You’re great!”
I laugh. “You auditioning for the role of Tony the Tiger? Come on. I’m freezing.”
We clomp up the stairs and into the apartment. I’ve only been inside once before, when Collin insisted I come over and check it out to make sure I actually wanted to move in.
It’s one giant room. A couch and rocker recliner face a TV that’s mounted on the wall, and that makes up the living room. Thekitchenette is beyond it in the corner. There’s a single bank of cabinets with a sink and a stove/oven combo. A two-seater table backs up against the couch. The double bed is under the window on the far wall with a small bedside table and lamp next to it. Directly to my right is the bathroom. The loft is bare bones in the most economical of ways, and it’ll serve my purposes perfectly.
But I notice several things at once. The stark space I toured has been warmed up, both because Collin obviously cranked the heat from where he had it set at a balmy sixty degrees, and more than that, he’s added some extras.
There’s a fleece blanket draped over the back of the couch. A fresh bottle of hand soap is sitting next to the kitchen sink, and a candle is burning on the table, making the whole place smell like candied apples.
We step into the living room space, and Mack and Collin head down the stairs again to grab more of my stuff. As he walks past me, Collin smiles. “Welcome home!”
“This is adorable,” Rose says when their steps recede. “I’m going to come over and hang out all the time.”
“You’re always welcome.” I wander toward the kitchen. Next to the burning candle is an envelope with my name on it. It’s in the same script as the one from Getaway Café, and my pulse jumps at the sight of it, but not with dread. With anticipation.
I grab for it and greedily tear open the sealant.
“What’s that?” Poppy asks, following me.
I skim the note and can’t help the smile that itches at the corners of my mouth. “A housewarming note from Collin.”
“Stop it. Is he already writing you love letters?” Rose pretends to gag. “I don’t know what to do with myself between the two of you and your boyfriends.”
I glance down at the note, my cheeks flaring.
I hope this is a place where you can relax and feel at home. Let me know if you need anything. I’m only a backyard away. ~C
I should not be swooning over a note that’s purely practical, but I can’t help it. It’s the thought of it. The thought of all of this.
I steel myself against the foreign emotion I’m feeling. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Collin’s note—or notes, rather—make me giddy. But I refuse to acknowledge that. If a simple housewarming note has me going gooey, all that proves is how low my standards are.
Still, when Poppy and Rose are occupied, I slide the note under the pillow of my new bed.
